This Law Firm Publication by Fisher & Phillips LLP addresses the Act to Establish Pay Equity, a bill signed by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker on August 1, 2016. The new law requires employers to pay men and women the same wages for doing different but comparable work and bans any pay secrecy policy or practice that prohibits employees from asking about or discussing wages. Employers that do not comply with the new law could be subject to lawsuits by individual employees as well as on behalf of similarly situated employees, and can be required to pay unpaid wages, liquidated damages, and attorneys' fees. The Act to Establish Pay Equity, which becomes effective on January 1, 2018, allows employers an affirmative defense based on self-evaluations that show progress towards eliminating gender-based wage differentials.